Reducing energy costs and disease pressure:

Video of test in cucumber greenhouse with the Multifan V-FloFan

Last month, Vostermans Ventilation tested the Multifan V-FloFan at a commercial cucumber greenhouse. In the test, the vertical ventilation V-FloFan is placed in a Venlo greenhouse, which has a ground to gutter size of 4 meters height. The grower of the cucumber crop currently uses a traditional horizontal ventilation system, but with his eye on The New Cultivation, he is looking for a way to realize a balanced spread micro climate.

According to Vostermans, the V-FloFan enables a micro climate ventilation, which results in a better distribution of moisture in the greenhouse by creating a flow that starts from the bottom of the crop. Because the moisture will be taken away at the roots and the lower part of the crop, there will be a smaller disease pressure.

On the other hand, the fan will transport the warmer air that is present at the ridge/top of the greenhouse towards the crop itself. This will result in reducing energy usage.

Dan Roumen, Vostermans: "In modern greenhouses ventilation plays a vital role. Through re-circulation of air, heat distribution in the greenhouses is optimized, which enhances a uniform development of the crops, independent of the location. Because of several energy technical improvements in modern greenhouses and more intensive cultivation methods, the necessity of controlling humidity levels on crop level increases. With the V-FloFan, we offer the grower the opportunity to reduce the negative impacts, due to humidity, in a simple and energy efficient way. The vertical and horizontal airflows result into an active microclimate on crop level."